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Perception of fairness is a key construct affecting job performance, and perceptions of promotional processes are related to employees' sense of justice in private organizations. In police departments, negative perceptions of procedures can be detrimental to departmental effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental study was to compare Louisiana officers' perceptions of fairness of a seniority-based promotion system in relation to Louisiana deputies' perceptions of fairness of a merit-based promotion system. Organizational justice theory, including procedural justice, was the theoretical foundation. The research questions were designed to examine whether seniority, transparency, knowledge of the promotion systems, gender, and race predicted levels of perceived fairness. Data were analyzed using an independent samples t test, a MANOVA, and a multiple linear regression. Participants in the seniority-based system perceived it as being fairer than participants in the merit-based system viewed their merit-based system. There were significant differences in knowledge of promotion systems and perceived fairness for rank and system type, but not race and gender. Collectively, predictor variables correlated with perceived fairness. Type of promotion system was not significant when examined with other variables suggesting confounding of predictor variables. Human resources should make employees aware of promotion procedures. Hybrid systems might help address both employee fairness and the promotion of qualified individuals. Officers viewing promotion as fair could lead to positive social change by motivating officers and positively influencing how they serve the public.

Expectations of children to perform parenting tasks above their development level, a phenomenon known as parentification, is said to be destructive in western literature. However, in other cultures, children taking on some parenting duties may not be considered a detriment but rather an attribute of filial responsibility. The current study examined the relationships between identity distress and parentification as it differs by culture. A comparison of parentification by ethnicity revealed that individuals who did not classify as an ethnic minority experienced significant levels of identity distress compared to ethnic minority individuals regarding parentification. This variation may be attributed to elements of parentification seen as an expectation by some ethnic groups. Further analyses of the data and implications for understanding cultural bias in our assumptions of the adverse effects of parentification is discussed.

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The design of incentive compensation plans is critical to a company’s success. This study develops and validates a theoretical model to examine how incentive contract framing affects effort. This study uses an experiment to observe the effect of the manipulation of incentive contract frame and the presence or absence of principal discretion in performance evaluation on effort. The results of the experiment show that when principal discretion in performance evaluation is absent, penalty contracts induce greater effort than bonus contracts. The results of the experiment also demonstrate that the interaction of principal discretion in performance evaluation and contract frame influences how agents view the perceived fairness of their incentive contract. Specifically, principal discretion in performance evaluation increases perceived fairness under a penalty contract but not under a bonus contract. This study also extends prior research by documenting that perceived fairness explains how incentive contract frame affects trust and effort.

Involvement in collaborative partnerships in natural resource management has become a popular method for natural resource management agencies to collect public input, cope with conflicts, and develop ecosystem management plans. This thesis evaluates various collaborative processes, emphasizing multiple-owner partnerships. Qualitative interviews of 46 landowners in Utah were conducted to reveal concerns and suggestions regarding multiple-owner landscape-level collaborative partnerships. Landowners were concerned about private property rights infringement and losing control of their private land. Landowners were primarily concerned about the fairness and effectiveness of any partnership in which they were involved. However, they were willing to consider participating if certain procedural and group composition elements were met: realistic goals; compromise or consensus-based decision-making; time efficiency; participant commitment, especially by public land management officials; more weight given to local concerns than non-local concerns; participant knowledge of local ecosystems; and respect among participants. A follow-up study with participants of eight collaborative partnerships in four western states examined the importance of the procedural and group composition elements identified from the landowner interviews, plus one from a literature review, i.e., that participants feel that they have some control and/or a voice in the process. Analysis revealed that all but one of these elements - more weight given to local concerns - were associated with participants' perceptions that their partnership was fair and effective. These elements can be used as guidelines for emerging collaborative partnerships. Participants were overwhelmingly positive in their evaluations of their partnerships, suggesting that there are real benefits of using collaborative processes.

Research has found support for the effectiveness of procedural justice, specifically perceived fairness, in gaining compliance from people with respect to the police and the courts (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 1984; Tyler, 2001). Further, research has examined the effectiveness in jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) programs in reducing recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems (Bahr, Harris, Strobell, & Taylor, 2012; Eisenberg & Fabelo, 1996; Hiller, Knight, & Simpson, 1999). However, research has yet to test whether procedural justice can impact recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems and multiple incarcerations. The major focus of this Master’s thesis was to examine whether 78 participants in the 90-day jail-based RSAT program known as Starting Treatment and Recovery Today (START) were less likely to be rearrested after release from jail if they felt they were treated fairly by the jail staff. Bivariate analyses were conducted on survey data and official criminal records. The findings suggest that perceived fairness of the jail staff was not related to post-program recidivism. Moreover, the results indicate that offenders with more extensive criminal histories were more likely to recidivate. Recommendations for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

The three components model of empathy proposed by Decety and Jackson (2004) is currently the dominant model of empathy. The three components include: 1) the affective component (Simulation Theory), 2) emotional perspective taking, and 3) emotion regulation (self/other distinction). The purpose of the current study was to examine whether empathic perspective taking is dependent on context and to provide a behavioral basis for a follow-up fMRI study. More specifically, we wanted to know how body contexts (e.g. mood) and situational contexts (e.g. perceived fairness of a partner) affect emotional perspective taking. To examine the interaction between mood and perceived fairness of a partner, a 2 (mood group: neutral vs. negative) × 2 (fairness condition: unfair partner vs. fair partner) between-groups experimental design was employed. Mood induction videos were employed for the mood manipulation and participants played either a fair or unfair preprogrammed partner in a modified ultimatum game. After both manipulations, three measures were used to assess perspective taking and several post-game behavioral measures were also employed. Results were obtained from 73 participants (age: 18-22; female = 46, ~18 in each condition). The results demonstrated that participants in the negative mood had more difficulty empathizing with unfair partners and had a greater desire for revenge against them than participants in a neutral mood in the same unfair situations. Therefore, human empathy is not constant, but varies depending on a variety of contexts. We can now use this paradigm for a future fMRI study to investigate the neural substrates underlying this context dependency with a particular emphasis on the frontopolar cortex and the nucleus accumbens.

Presented through the lens of the Theory of Relative Deprivation (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), this thesis aims to establish and quantify the link between inaccessibility in online contexts for people with low-vision or blindness, and the psychosocial impacts that may be associated with this inaccessibility. As there is existing research on this topic with elderly participants (Lagacé, Charmarkeh, Zaky, & Firzly, 2016), the focus for this research was working-aged people. The following research questions were addressed: 1) Does perceived lack of internet accessibility lead to perceptions of unfairness among low-vision or blind individuals? 2) In turn, do perceptions of unfairness negatively impact their level of self-esteem, and civic engagement? The hypothesized results were modeled as lower levels of perceived access lead to lower levels of perceived fairness, which in turn, lower the levels of civic engagement and self- esteem. Using a sample of 69 participants between the ages of 21-65, a self-report questionnaire was administered. It was found that perceived fairness was correlated on three of four scale items with self-esteem levels; the perception of fairness was not correlated with civic engagement; civic engagement and self-esteem were significantly correlated; and perceived access was correlated with levels of self-esteem.

In revenue management practice, the issue of perceived fairness is a serious concern, because revenue management applies different prices for basically the same service. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of hotel revenue management pricing on customers’ perceptions of fairness. Specifically, this study explores whether framing revenue management pricing as discounts rather than surcharges would significantly enhance customers’ perceived fairness. In addition to framing, this study investigates whether customers’ perceived fairness is affected by the fencing condition customers are in. Furthermore, most importantly, this study proposes that such framing and fencing condition effects are moderated by a hotel’s reputation with a revenue management pricing practice. This study found that framing and fencing condition had a significant effect on customers’ fairness perception, respectively. In addition, this study found that reputation moderated the effect of framing on perceived fairness. When the hotel had a poor reputation, framing as a discount rather than framing as a surcharge considerably increased customers’ perceived fairness. When the hotel had a good reputation, however, there was no significant difference between priced framed as a discount and a surcharge. This study supports hotel managers to understand how customers perceive fairness in revenue management practices and also provides hotel managers with broad acceptance levels of the tested revenue management pricing mechanisms.